Sales of income protection insurance, which pays a monthly income if you can't work through illness, are down by a fifth.

About #190million a year is spent on income protection compared with more than #2.6billion on home contents and #10billion on life insurance.

Insurers BrightGrey has discovered income protection ranks below mobile phones in people's insurance priorities. Only pet insurance is seen as less important. Self-employed web designer Hazel Semple, 24, who runs www.minigallery.co.uk, has income protection. She took out a policy with Liverpool Victoria this year at #38.68 a month. It pays out #6,000 a year tax-free if she can't work.

"Now I know that if I get ill and couldn't work, there is something there," she says.

Anyone considering buying a policy should check what their employer pays if they are out of workdue to illness.

If you are only entitled to state benefit of about #73 a week, it's worth taking out insurance. Log on to www.brightgrey.com for advice.